Evening Excursion
by GrissomJam
Summary: Category: Eric and Calleigh. Dinner for two?


**--Evening Excursion--**

A CSI Miami Vignette

Category: Eric And Calleigh

Note: Takes place before the Season 3 Finale "10-7"

He had come here to get drunk. Eric stared at the pale yellow substance in the glass in front him. It had been a bit of a spur of the moment decision. He had gotten in his car and had driven to a bar. Not just any bar though, it had to be the bar furthest from the lab, furthest from a police station, furthest away from anywhere where there was anybody who knew him.

Great plan genius. He opened his wallet and realized that he had nowhere near enough to cash to pay for a cab ride home. He smiled a tired smile and shook his head. He couldn't even get drunk right. He supposed he could call any number of people to come get him, even Horatio Caine. However, that didn't strike him as a particularly good idea at this stage in his career.

His thoughts turned to Calleigh's dad. He thought about all the times she's had to leave work to go pick him and take him home. Did he really want to turn into that? Somebody his friends always had to worry about? Sure, Mr. Duquesne seemed to be able to drown his sorrows away for awhile, but the troubles were always still there when he sobered up.

No, Eric Delko was not a drunk, and he never would be. Still, nobody could blame him for wanting to hit the bottle a bit, could they? After all, he had lost his friend, Speed. Not only that, but the guy Horatio hired to replace Tim annoyed the hell out of him a lot of the time. Then there was the girls, the badge, and the investigation. Eric didn't even want to think about that.

He picked up the glass and took a sip of the bitter, yellow liquid. Nope, no miracle panacea here. Speed was still gone, and he had still messed up, bad. He put the glass down.

He became aware of a presence next to him. He turned to his left and was confronted by a pretty little red-headed girl. Eric guessed she was no older than the 21 you had to be to enter the bar. She was devilishly sexy, with tight jeans shorts and a skimpy white shirt stretched tightly over a black bikini top.

She smiled at him, revealing perfect, white teeth. "Hey there, you look lonely tonight."

Eric decided that this woman was indeed the devil, a hooker maybe. He flashed back to the case where Frank Tripp had almost been lured by a woman in a bar. "No thanks, Miss. I just need a little time to myself."

She put her hand on his shoulder and rubbed his back a little bit. "Hmm, it's a crime for a guy like you to be lonely."

Eric turned toward her. It was so tempting. Since drowning his troubles in alcohol wasn't going to work, maybe he could drown them in passion. No wait, who was he kidding? He gently lifted her hand from his shoulder. "No offense, Miss, but I'm not really in the mood."

The young woman stared at him blankly. She was obviously not used to being turned down. She took a piece of paper out of her pocket and wrote on it. Then she haded it to him and said, "well, give me a call when you are in the mood." She smiled and walked away, making sure Eric got a good look at her as she left.

What the hell was he doing?

Eric dropped a 10 dollar bill on the bar and walked outside. He half expected the young woman to be standing there waiting. He looked at the piece of paper. It was a bar tab receipt. On the back was the name "Cindy" and a phone number. Eric stared at it blankly.

He walked up to the bouncer at the door. "Got a light?"

The bouncer replied. "I got a match."

"That'll work." Eric looked at him restlessly. Finally the big man fished a match book out of his pocket. Eric pulled off a match and handed it back to him. "Thanks."

He walked back to his car. He reached down and struck the match on the pavement, and lit the paper with the phone number ablaze. He watched it burn for a moment, then dropped it to the ground. He stomped on it with his foot to make sure it was out, then he got in his car and drove away.

He was fine to drive, He had one sip of one beer. Probably not enough to register in his blood, but he still drove carefully. He didn't want to get pulled over coming out of a bar. Horatio wouldn't be pleased.

He couldn't make up his mind where to go now. He didn't want to go home. He really didn't feel like being totally alone at the moment. He realized his mind, hands, and feet were instinctually taking him to the lab. That was fine. Maybe he could process some film or check in some evidence. That would help him get his mind off things. Work always did.

About a half hour later, he pulled into the lab parking lot. He breathed a sigh of relief to see that Horatio had left for the night. He wondered what H did to drown his troubles. He was also a bit happy to see that Ryan appeared to be gone for the evening as well.

He pulled into a stall next to a car he recognized as Calleigh Duquesne's. Wow, Calleigh was still here. He wasn't surprised though. He imagined she would be in the firearms lab playing with her toys.

After exiting his car, he strolled through the front door. He flashed his badge to the officer at the front desk and was greeted with a laconic nod. All of the Miami CSIs worked many doubles shifts, so it was not odd for any of them to come in and out of the lab at any time of day.

First, he walked past the DNA lab. Some young guy with jet-black hair was sitting there, working some swabs. Valera should be there, he thought. He made a mental not to call her and see how she was doing.

His next stop was his boss's office. He peered in the through the glass. Horatio had left his desk light on, as usual, but the head of the crime lab shift was nowhere to be seen. Good. He didn't fancy a chat with H tonight.

Finally, he walked the firearms lab. He expected to Calleigh seated on her stool, poised above the comparison microscope. Instead, he just saw her lab coat draped over a chair at an examining table.

Disappointed, he made his way to the trace lab. It was one of the places he really felt at peace. Speedle had been great at trace, and had taught Eric a lot. He smiled as he pulled on his lab coat and gloves, thinking about his friend. He ordered up some fibers from the evidence room and set to work pulling out the various acids he would need for tonight's exercise. Sure, he could use the

Mass Spec or the FTIR to find out the identity of fibers in a heartbeat. However, those instruments were expensive, and he needed something to do anyway.

The evidence clerk dropped off his fibers. Eric signed the chain of custody and got to work. He removed a small piece of the first fiber and dropped it into a spot plate. He dropped a bit of Formic acid into the plate, and watched as the fiber dissolved in front of him. Nice reaction. Horatio had hoped this particular fiber was nylon, the Glacial Acetic Acid would tell the tale. He spent what seemed like the next several hours lost in his solubility schemes.

Finally, he felt a poke on his shoulder, he wheeled around on the stool to see Tyler, the AV tech standing behind him. "Man, Tyler, don't sneak up on somebody in the lab, you just about got a face full of Nitric acid!"

Tyler didn't appear phased. "Hey, sorry buddy. I called your name three times from the doorway!"

Eric put the acid down and got off the stool, stretching his legs. "Yeah, sorry, I was pretty focused. What's up?"

"Oh not much, just wondering what the heck you were doing here instead of out on the town."

Eric sighed and took off his gloves. "Yeah well, didn't really feel like a night on the town you know."

Tyler just nodded. That's what Eric liked him about him, he knew when to back off. He turned to leave, then turned back to Eric. "Oh, by the way, Calleigh saw your car out front, she was looking for you."

Eric perked up instantly. "Really? Is she still here?"

Tyler smiled. He didn't know why Eric bothered to try and hide it. Every time someone mentioned her name, Eric lit up like Washington DC on the 4th of July. "I think so man, she was getting ready to head out though."

Eric smiled and patted Tyler on the shoulder. His first stop had to be the evidence room. He dropped off the fibers to the clerk and asked the young lady, "Have you seen Calleigh?"

"Yes sir, she just dropped off a pair of bullets about then minutes ago."

"Hey, thanks."

If there was something Calleigh was good at besides bullets, it was listening, and he needed an ear to bend. Unfortunately, he found the firearms lab locked and the lab coats hung in the locker area. "Damn!"

He walked dejectedly back to the trace lab and retrieved his keys. He had just missed her. He should have known that Calleigh always cleaned up before checking her evidence back in. He logged out at the front door, and headed back to his car.

He saw her.

She was standing on the sidewalk, talking to the new firearms tech she was training. Calleigh was one of the best in the country, and students came from all over to intern and work for her. She couldn't see Eric standing in the door.

He looked her up and down, admiring her beauty, from her long blonde hair, all the way down to her impeccable shoes. The woman could dress. Tonight she was sporting black slacks and a navy blue top. Her badge hung on her belt as usual. Eric smiled. Calleigh had been at work for probably 14 hours, and she still looked stunning.

She dismissed the tech, and headed for her own car. Once the tech was out of sight, Calleigh let her guard down and Eric could see the fatigue on her face. He should just let her go, she was obviously very tired.

He watched as she paused. She had seen his car still in the lot. She glanced back up at the front door. Eric paused. Did she see him? Apparently not, she opened the door of her own car, got in, and drove away.

Eric frowned. Why was he always so shy about her. Of course, she had that effect on a lot of men. Except for that nitwit Hagen, he was NEVER shy. He walked out into the cool Miami night.

He sat down in his car and rubbed his eyes. It was late, and he needed at least some sleep. Maybe he would talk to Horatio about how he was feeling. He shrugged. Then his cell phone rang.

He didn't even look at the ID screen before he answered, "Delko."

He heard a soft Southern Belle voice on the other end. "Why are you hiding from me?"

Even though she was just on the phone, he blushed. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw you standing in the doorway there, in the shadows."

Damn, she had caught him. "Hey, sorry Calleigh, you looked tired, I didn't want to bug you."

He heard a slight giggle on the other end. "You never bug me Eric."

A sigh was all he could muster. "Thanks."

"Hey, you want to get some coffee, maybe a REALLY early breakfast?"

Eric smiled, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's meet somewhere."

Eric thought for a minute. Coffee sounded really good. "Okay, how about that Mom N' Pop waffle house over by Valera's place?"

Calleigh thought that was a great idea, as evidenced by the slight squeal of glee on the other end. "Oh yes, Eric. That place is to die for. I've eaten there with Valera before!"

"Alright, Calleigh. See you in about twenty minutes?"

"Yup, I'll be there."

She hung up. Eric put his cell phone down and put his keys in the ignition. Finally, his night was improving.

Eric pulled up in front of the little Mom n' Pop Waffle house. He looked out of his windshield as the rain began to fall. Not a waffle house, not even a café really, this place could best be described as a 'joint.' The semi-trucks in the parking lot out numbered the cars two to one.

He got out of his car and looked around. No sign of Calleigh yet. Well, he didn't want to stand in the rain, so he figured he should go inside and get a table for them.

When he entered the front door, he half expected to get hit with a not-so-lovely aroma of cigarette smoke and sweaty truckers. Oddly, it smelled a lot, like...maple. Must be a lot of syrup being tossed around this place. He walked up to cash register, where a short, scraggly haired brunette stood, filing her fingernails. Eric winced at that, and hoped she was just a hostess. Her name badge read, no screamed, MARGE in huge black letters.

"What can I do you for, officer?" Marge asked.

Eric looked startled for a second, then realized he was still wearing his badge and pistol on his belt. "Oh, yeah, uh, table for two please?"

"Find one and sit at it." MARGE barked.

Eric rolled his eyes and picked a little booth about halfway back in the café. A moment later, a waiter named John appeared. John was a lot nicer, and a lot cleaner than Marge. "Can I start you off with some coffee sir?"

"Yeah, black," Eric said. Eric watched as John disappeared around the corner, and turned his attention to the door.

He sat for a few minutes, and was just about to give up. Had Calleigh been yanking his chain, were they talking about a different place, was he dreaming the whole thing? Just when he was about to pinch himself, he saw a blonde head bob around the window leading to the door. As far as he knew, only one woman in Miami had hair that blonde.

Calleigh walked through the door and walked up to Marge. Eric saw Marge stick a thumb in his general direction, then Calleigh smiled and walked towards the booth. She still looked stunning. Eric thought of all those horribly cliche love stories, where the girl walked in slow motion with her hair streaming out in all directions behind her. He smiled, it kind of felt like that

She stopped short of the table. "Sorry Eric. Big accident about five blocks over. Looks like someone was driving a little too fast when the rain hit.'

"Hey, no problem."

"Scoot over."

"What?"

Calleigh stuck her thumb out at him and motioned for him to scoot over in the booth. He complied. To his surprise, she sat down next to him instead of across from him. This was a first.

"You don't mind, do you?" She asked.

"Uh, no, of course not." He could feel himself blushing.

"Good. Have you ordered?"

"No, just coffee so far."

As if on cue, John emerged with a pot and two cups. "Coffee miss?"

"Please."

Eric watched as John deftly poured two cups without spilling a drop. "I'll be back shortly to take your order."

"Thank you," Calleigh said with a smile.

Eric picked up his menu. Calleigh leaned her head on his shoulder and scanned the menu in his hands. He looked down at her. He had the urge to run his fingers through her long blonde hair. He could smell her shampoo and perfume. It was more than slightly intoxicating. Something cinnamon in there?

"I think I'll have the french toast? What about you Eric?" She looked up into his eyes.

He shook himself out of the trance. "Uh, I think scrambled eggs and pancakes sounds good."

"Have you ever eaten here before?" She asked.

"No."

"I've eaten here with Valera a couple of times. It looks a little dingy, but the food's great."

"Good, I'm hungry," Eric replied and took a sip of his coffee. "How's Valera doing?"

"She's alright, dying to come to back to work."

Eric nodded and took another sip.

"What's on you mind, Eric?"

"Oh not much, I was just testing some fibers for Horatio."

John appeared again, and they placed their orders. He refilled their coffee and disappeared around the corner again.

"Come on Eric," Calleigh said. "I know you weren't lurking about to talk shop."

Eric stared out across the café, trying not to pay attention to the beautiful woman seated next to him. This is what he wanted right? Somebody to listen to him? Somebody to open up to? He really hadn't thought she would want to listen though.

"What is it Eric? Tell me. We've been friends way too long for this."

He looked back at her. He guessed he might as well. It was a hell of a lot better than talking to Horatio. "I don't know Calleigh, have you ever been lonely?"

"Sure, we all have."

"No, I mean, REALLY lonely?"

"Eric, everybody loves you, are you really feeling that down?"

"A little. It's dumb I guess."

"No it's not. I guess that makes sense."

"You think?"

"Well, I know how close you and Tim were. We all miss him."

He nodded. That was a big part of it. "I know I have lots of friends, but nobody I can feel close to, you know?"

"What am I, a ratty old piece of furniture?"

He looked down at her again. She was running her hands along his shoulder. "No, definitely not." He managed a smile.

"Well, that's good to hear. I don't get all dolled up to have someone tell me I look like a piece of furniture."

"You look great."

"Aw, thanks Eric." She squeezed his arm a bit.

"What about Hagen?"

Calleigh looked at him queerly. "You're not serious?"

Eric laughed. "Just checking."

Calleigh shared his laugh as the waiter brought their meals. The next few minutes passed in silence as the two CSIs ate like they hadn't had food for a week.

Eric broke the silence. "You're right Calleigh, this is great!" He looked up to see that she had finished already.

She laughed as she caught his stare. "Hey, come on now, I didn't have lunch today! I was hungry!"

"Hey, no complaints here! That french toast looked good!"

"Yeah it was."

He could feel her eyes on him as he finished his meal. He finally finished and set his fork off to the side. He slumped back in the booth, very full, very satisfied.

"Why did you want to come here Eric, if you've never eaten here before?"

"It was out of the way." He looked over at her. Ever part of her looked perfect. Her eyes met his, and she held his stare.

"What Eric?"

"Well, I don't know, it's probably not appropriate."

"What?"

"You look very beautiful."

"Oh? Thank you, Eric. Why is that not appropriate?"

"Well, because of work, because of Horatio."

"Do you see Horatio around here anywhere?"

Eric paused and looked at the door. "No, but he has radar, he'll come through that door any second."

He expected her to laugh, but he was shocked to see a sedate look on her face. She reached down and pulled Eric's badge off his belt and tossed it on the table. Then she did the same thing with hers. "There, now we're not coworkers or cops. We're just a lonely man and a lonely woman, keeping each other company."

Eric smiled at that. "You still have your gun."

"Yeah, well, some things a girl just can't do without."

Eric laughed briskly, breaking the tension.

"Do you have something to say Eric?"

He put his hand up, and pushed a tuft of long blonde hair from her face. "Sometimes actions speak louder than words."

"Really? Like what actions?" She smiled the most evil looking grin he'd ever seen.

"Well...," he leaned into her...

And John showed up with the bill.

Damn it!

Eric looked at it. Calleigh folded her arms around him. The bill was $14.56. He removed a twenty dollar bill, tossed it at John and said, "Keep the change." Then to Calleigh, he said, "shall we?"

"Let's go," she said.

They walked out together arm in arm, and stopped in front of Calleigh's car. He looked down at her, and she smiled back up at him. He folded his arms around her and leaned in close...

Calleigh, broke away from his embrace. "Wait, Eric!"

He backed off, "What?"

She ran at break neck speed back into the café, and came back out with their badges. She handed his to him. "I don't think the boss would be too happy if BOTH of our badges went missing."

He smiled. "Where were we?"

"Right about here," she said. She leaned into him and kissed him tenderly, then passionately. Behind her back, the first glint of the Miami sunrise reflect off Delko's badge into the beautiful new day, as the smell of the rain washed pavement drifted to heavens.


End file.
